Page 68 of His Wounded Heart

Double whammy?

Oh yeah.

“I thought her little heart was going to break, and it about killed me, but eventually she calms down. Meanwhile, I’m still dying about that killer comment. Is that how she’s always felt about us, that we’re not a good enough family?”

“Trenda, how I saw the two of you interact in that grocery store was magic. Pure magic. In my late twenties and early thirties, when a lot of my friends were having kids, Patsy and I would be invited over to their houses and I’d see how these two-parent families would handle their children and how their children would react. They had nothing on you.”

“You don’t have to say that.” I can hear the hopeful note in my voice, wanting so badly to believe him.

“I’m not ‘just saying’ any goddamn thing. I’m telling you the truth.”

“Yeah? Well, I have one more thing for you to consider. Bella spent yesterday and today telling me what a good family we were. She knew she’d hurt my feelings, so I have a seven-year-old trying to parent me when I had just told her that her father was dead. Could I be more of a shitty mother?”

Simon pulls my right hand away from his sweater. That’s when I realize my nails have been biting into his chest.

“I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.”

“See? I can’t do anything right.” I hear the dejection in my voice.

“If you kiss it, you’ll make me feel better, then you’ll have done something right.”

I shout out a laugh and jerk back so that I’m looking up at twinkling gray eyes.

“There you are. I knew my girl wouldn’t stay down long.”

“You’re right, I don’t want to spend every single time together crying all over you. That would just suck.”

He gives me a heated look.

“Trenda, would you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Don’t use the word suck when you’re straddling my lap.”

I giggle. I giggle some more. Then some more.

“Honey, I have to ask for another favor.”

“O-O-Okay.”

“Could you please not rock up and down on my cock while you laugh?”

Now I start laughing in earnest. His hand under my blouse now slides all the way around so that it’s cupping my breast. His other hand tangled in my hair moves my head so that it’s in a perfect position when our lips meet.

The woman is killing me. Not just the story she’d just told me, but her lush body on top of mine, along with her innocence, is a package that sets me on fire.

Slowly, Clark. Take it slow.

She has the most kissable mouth, and I taste salt as I press one soft kiss against them, the first touch, the first brush, the first real meeting of our lips. Trenda lets out a small sigh, just enough to part her lips a little, so that I can trace my tongue along that bottom, plump lip. Under my right hand, she turns so that my entire hand now encompasses her breast.

On the third pass of my tongue, she opens her mouth for a deeper kiss and I hear my groan of satisfaction. I tilt my head and slip my tongue inside the warm cavern of her mouth. I taste mint, and it takes a second for me to realize she must have brushed her teeth after the beer and pizza. This woman, she’s such a lady.

Her tongue shies away from mine, so I retreat and go back to kissing the side of her mouth, then the other side. She pushes even closer to me. I know she’s not aware that those wonderfully thin yoga pants are pressing even tighter against my raging erection. I swear I can feel her heat.

She lets out a kittenish mewl, her lips parted once more. She’s making me crazy, and her lower lip is delectable, so I take it into my mouth, then between my teeth and nibble. I hear her soft cry and I pull back to look at her. Her face is flushed, some of her beautiful hair has fallen across her face, and as I continue to look, she slowly opens her eyes. They’re dark with desire, but sparkle with both joy and curiosity. Could there be a better combination?